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Topchidere is the improvised country club of the Belgraders, and many are the social functions given in its casino—if I may apologize for the use of the word “casino” in describing the ramshackle frame house of carousal in the Park. But the gardens are really beautiful, and are kept in excellent condition by state prisoners detailed to work in them.

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TWENTIETH CENTURY SERVIA

The Servians—The Rise of the Nation—The Army—The Race-meets—The Market in Belgrade—National Customs—The National Dance.

To the seeker of health and of pleasure, to the lover of the beautiful in art and in nature, to the reveller in gayety and luxurious living, Servia as a travel territory is null and void. It is a country of interest to the public only so long as it continues to bask in the limelight as a disturber of Balkan peace. It is the tool of Russia, the enemy of Austria, the contempt of Bulgaria and the hatred of Turkey. Indeed its only true friend may be said to be its relative—miniature Montenegro. If the Balkan Peninsula is the “Powder Box” of Europe, Servia certainly deserves to be called the “Percussion Cap” of the Balkan Peninsula.